Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater will lead Louisville into today’s Russell Athletic Bowl against soon-to-be ACC rival Miami. Bridgewater, though, may not be around when the Cardinals officially join the conference.
Associated Press photo

ORLANDO, Fla. — Louisville and Miami will be playing for more than a trophy in today’s Russell Athletic Bowl. The matchup will also provide both teams with a glimpse of what’s ahead.

Next season will bring the latest round of conference realignment, and with it the 18th-ranked Cardinals’ move the Hurricanes’ Atlantic Coast Conference. While both schools will undergo the usual personnel changes this offseason, this is an opportunity not lost on either side.

“That’s where we’re trying to get to,” Cardinals coach Charlie Strong said. “We know we still have a long ways to go, but this is going to be a measuring stick for us as we go into the ACC next season. ... We’ll just see how far we have to go.”

For the Hurricanes (9-3), just being back in a bowl has been reason to celebrate this week. Miami is appearing in its first bowl since 2010 after self-imposing a two-year postseason ban during an NCAA investigation.

Coach Al Golden, coaching his first bowl game at Miami, said it’s been a week well spent as it tries to post the program’s first bowl victory since 2006.

“Obviously we’ve been encumbered a little bit more than we would have wanted to for the last two years,” Golden said. “But we feel like we are moving the program forward, and we do have an opportunity with a win (Saturday) night to be the first team in Miami in a decade to win 10 games. Given the circumstances and the adversity we’ve dealt with that would be a great task and tremendous honor for our senior class.”

The Cardinals (11-1) missed out on their opportunity for a second straight BCS bowl berth after blowing a 21-point lead in a loss to eventual American Athletic Conference champion UCF.

Strong said the ability of his team to recover from that disappointment showed a lot about the culture they’ve tried to build.

A win today would give the Cardinals the school’s second 12-win season.

“We knew there was going to be some highs and lows this season, but our players were able to bounce back. I think about the one loss that we had, we didn’t let that game go beat us twice,” Strong said. “We could have very easily let that game beat us twice, and we didn’t. So they have a lot to be proud of.”

Cardinals junior quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been Strong’s starter for 26 of the 36 victories during his tenure. Despite seeing his numbers tail off slightly down the stretch, Bridgewater enters the Russell Athletic Bowl still high on NFL draft boards should he decide to come out.

Bridgewater, a Miami native, originally committed to the Hurricanes before re-opening his recruitment after Randy Shannon’s firing. While a victory against his hometown school could be a nice way to end his college career, whether today’s game will be his last in a Cardinals’ uniform remains unclear.

“I feel that I’m ready, but I also feel that I’m not. It can go either way,” he said. “You always have areas that you can improve. Like I said, after this game I will just evaluate everything.”

Here are five things to watch in today’s game:

TEDDY BALL GAME: As Bridgewater has gone, so have the Cardinals.

With 28 touchdown passes this season, he enters the game just three shy of breaking Brian Brohm’s school record of 30.

CONTAINING TEDDY: Miami has at times been vulnerable defending the pass, surrendering 233.4 yards per game through the air, which ranks 71st in the country.

It puts a lot on the shoulders of the secondary and cornerback Tracy Howard, who leads the team with four interceptions.

FLORIDA REUNION: Strong has always recruited Florida hard, and brings a roster to Orlando that has 26 players from the Miami area.

RECORD BOOK WATCH: Not to be outdone, Miami quarterback Stephen Morris needs just 132 yards to become only the second QB in Miami history with multiple 3,000-yard seasons.

CARDINALS’ DEFENSE: Louisville features one of the nation’s top defenses. It ranks second in total defense (257.9 yards per game), second in rushing defense (86.3 ypg) and third in scoring defense, allowing just 12.4 points a game.

*We welcome your comments on the stories and issues of the day and seek to provide a forum for the community to voice opinions. All comments are subject to moderator approval before being made visible on the website but are not edited. The use of profanity, obscene and vulgar language, hate speech, and racial slurs is strictly prohibited. Advertisements, promotions, and spam will also be rejected. Please read our terms of service for full guides